Shadow
by Seonaid Mist
Summary: [on hiatus until further inspired] Something really awful happens and Duran's the eyewitness. He's sure that the assailant is Hawk...but he can't prove it. Was it really Hawk who did it though? [M for stuff] HawkxLise & some DuranxAngela


**Shadow**

Author/s: Seonaid Mist (and her mature [haha] friend who bugged her into writing this)

_Disclaimer_: This disclaimer applies for the whole story, so don't go looking for it in other chapters. *ahem* I don't own Seiken Densetsu 3. Yeah. Now you know. I don't own Hawk either. Or Riesz. Or Duran and Angela. Or Carlie and Kevin. Or anything related to things I don't own. Yeah. But I own some stuff in the story. I'll be telling ya what I made-up anyway, so no need to elaborate on that…anyway, I don't own SD3. Yeah. Oh, and I hate the whiny little Jessica. There. 

_Author's LONG&USELESS Notes_: Yeah, I know. I SHOULD be getting back to my fics, but I just couldn't get HER (Hell-Exiled-Rodent) to leave me alone, and it's interfering with other important things like…continuing my other fics. Yeah. Anyway, this is my first SD3 fic, so forgive me for some things that may confuse the hell outta ya, or annoy ya. Pairing/s? Hawk/Riesz and a little of Duran/Angela at some parts (and a hint of a slight love-triangular-square—if there is such a thing). ^-^; Anyway, I have a very long note about this chapter below, please read it for me. ^-^ Please? Oh, and enjoy reading! (how can anyone enjoy reading a dreadful story??? [yes, I used the genre TRAGEDY for that…hehe…I'll change it soon]) I just love putting myself down *puts self down*

**Chapter 1: _Not Hawk_**

_Dear Duran,_

_ Hi Duran! It's has been a while, don't you think? You don't know how great it is to have heard from you, especially since I haven't heard from everyone else in a long while. Congratulations on your win on that tournament…and for being marked as a Knight of Gold! I am very happy for you!_

_ How are you now? Aside from being happy of following your father's footsteps? Are you well? How about Wendy and your aunt? And what of Forcena? Yes, I know I have just recently heard from you, but you only told me of the tournament and being a Knight of Gold. You scarcely told me of how your life is working for you. I can't help but think of how everything is now. It's a little too peaceful now, isn't it? It makes me feel…dull. Well, I suppose it is better this way._

_ Me, I have been well, and so has Rolante. The castle has been rebuilt like it was before, and with all the monsters gone, business has been back and running in Palo, regardless of the ports and fish, of course. I won't be saying more on that though—I know you're not one to listen to the industrial feat of the kingdom. _

_ Apart from that, how about coming here? We are celebrating my seventeenth birthday and now that I am of age, I am to be crowned as the Queen of Rolante. Kevin and Carlie are coming as well and Angela is already here. I can't locate Hawk though. It seems that there has been problem with the letter that I have sent. I wonder if anyone can go past that fortress to deliver a letter. _

_ It's not everyday that a girl turns seventeen—and it's not everyday that a seventeen year old gets to be crowned as queen. Hence, I want my friends to be here just for the sake of it, so please say you could come. Please, for your very best friend in the whole world?_

_Love,_

_Riesz_

The last bit of the letter somewhat struck Duran funny. He never thought that the mighty amazon princess of the Wind Kingdom would actually resort to using their friendship as terms to get what she wants. He had a strange feeling that someone added that last part in when Riesz wasn't looking. 

"I guess I'll go to Rolante," he said to himself, grinning. "It's about time something else happened anyway."

~~~~~~~~~~~~ Duran's PoV ~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sailor smiled a big, beefy smile at me. "Welcome to Palo," he said as I made my way down the boat. Ah, Fishing Harbor Palo. Been so long…

I breathed in a great amount of salty sea air as I set my feet on the pier. Can't believe I'd be missing this place so much. 

"DURAN!" a familiar voice called out cheerily. _That sounds like…_

I turned and the sight nearly made my eyes pop out. Angela was making a beeline in my direction, her arms open wide. I dropped my bag and started to run away, but she was surprisingly too fast. In a split second, my neck was being squeezed by the "loving" arms of my dear friend, Angela. 

"Angie! Duran's turning purple!" said another familiar voice from behind us in shock. Amidst my temporary incapability of breathing, I grinned. _Riesz…_

Thankfully, Angela let go—but not without a whine. "Aaw, I was just greeting him!"

I didn't bother turning around just yet. I massaged my harassed neck and took in deep breaths of air. Riesz and Angela appeared alongside me as I did. They both flashed me their own trademark cheery smiles—which is rare in Riesz's case. She swept over and gave me a brief hug. 

"Thanks for coming, Duran," she said after she let go. 

"No prob, Riesz. Tomorrow's your special day, can't miss for the world!" That made her smile wider. 

Angela nudged me in the ribs to get my attention. I looked at her. "What?"

"Nothing," she answered nonchalantly, shrugging. 

"Huh?"

"DURAN!" called another familiar voice, interrupting Angela's reply. 

I braced myself for another attack around my neck. Didn't happen. The attack was directed to my legs instead, which made me look down. And what I saw made the corners of my mouth move upward, regardless of the numbing pain around my legs. "Hey, Carlie," I greeted. 

"Carlie missed Duran! Carlie's happy now!" she replied into my knees. I laughed. 

"Gah, nice to see you, gah," said someone in front of me. I didn't need to see who it was. I already know. 

"Hey, Kevin."

I smiled at all of them. Everyone came to greet me. We're almost complete! Just one thought bothered me though…because one of our number is missing. _I wonder where Hawk is…_

~~~~~~~~~~~~ Duran's PoV: Rolante ~~~~~~~~~~~~

_CRASH! _

Uh-oh…I stared at the dismantled chandelier that was previously hung high on the ceiling. My Deathbringer was dangerously impaled to where the chandelier used to be. 

"T-that doesn't seem to be very appropriate, Duran," Elliot said, his voice shaking. I glimpsed down at him. He was eyeing the broken chandelier, which had fallen where he stood moments ago. 

Riesz told me that Elliot seemed to have developed some kind of liking to me, especially when he heard that I've been made a Knight of Gold. As soon as I set foot in the castle, Elliot proved Riesz's words by glomping me. I spent the whole day yesterday playing with him, against my will, but with his sister watching us, I had no choice. The kid was so clingy that I can't help but go along with him. Just a little while ago, he led me into his room, and practically begged me to show him some of my…uh…sword skills. 

Then the catastrophe. I swung my sword a little _too_ hard that it ended up flying towards the ceiling. And detaching the chandelier from its proper place. Luckily, I pushed Elliot away before _he _got dismantled as well. 

It only took ten seconds for Riesz and a number of amazonesses to come bursting into the room. 

"What happened?" was Riesz's initial reaction at seeing the broken chandelier and the shaken Elliot. "There was a crash and—and—oh Elliot are you alright?" She ran over and hugged the kid. I think I heard him reply, "I'm okay, sis."

"I'm alright too, Riesz, thank you for asking," I interjected sarcastically, trying to remind her that I was standing there beside them. Riesz looked up—and then past my shoulder to the ceiling, seeing the sword. She scowled. _Uh-oh again._

"That's good, Duran," she replied in a fake tone. I gulped. Damn it, this is _not _good. She's mad. 

"It was an accident," I tried to explain, but it was no use. She was already _so_ mad at me. 

She waved a finger at me as she let go of Elliot. "Punishment," she said with a tone of finality. 

"Uh, okay…?" _Oh no…why'd you say that?! Protest, Duran, protest! She's gonna—_

"You're going to help set the dining room for the party."

I face faulted. I thought she was gonna tell me to lock myself up in the dungeon or something! Man, this girl is scary. 

"Uh, sure," I answered, pretty much unsure.

She turned to Elliot. "And you, young man, are going with Eliza up the mountain to gather some herbs (A/N: …just work with me here…). And no complaints. Understand?"

"Sure, sis!" said the kid, very much enthusiastically. 

She turned to me again. "After you clean up that mess," she said, indicating the shards of glass scattered on the floor behind me, "head down for the dining room. And no complaints from you too. Me, Angie, Carlie, and Kevin are going to Palo to shop for some things." She turned around and signaled for the amazonesses to leave. She looked up again. "And take that sword out of my ceiling."

"Yes, ma'am."

~~~~~~~~~~~~ Duran's PoV: Dining room ~~~~~~~~~~~~

I scrubbed the stubborn speck of dirt from the window glass with all the force I could muster. "Get off already, you stupid piece of dirt!" I told it, scrubbing, and scrubbing, and scrubbing…

It still won't come off. I resisted the urge to bang my head on the glass. _Why can't I just help set the table instead of cleaning these stupid windows?! _I looked behind me at the girls. They were giggling among themselves while straightening the tablecloth on the table. _They're doing easy stuff! Damn it, it's not fair! _I glared angrily at them for no apparent reason before turning back to the dirt-specked window.

It was overlooking the mountain zone. From it, I can see the cliffs and mountain paths. I remember climbing this exact mountain in search of Jinn. Heh. _Those were the days… _I smiled. "I hope something really exciting happens…I am bored out of my remaining wits…" As I said this, something black flickered over one of the cliffs. 

I pressed my nose firmly to the window and looked closely. A shadow was moving stealthily towards the castle. If I'm not mistaken, it would be a human shadow. I blinked and looked again. 

It was gone. In a blink of an eye, it was gone. _Probably just my imagination. _With a sigh of disappointment, I turned back to the infernal speck, and continued to scrub it off. 

I triumphantly got it off several minutes later. I slumped down on the floor. I can't believe that the idiotic speck of dirt actually drained me of my energy as I did when I first fought Koren. I chuckled softly. _That_ speck was a very formidable opponent. 

One of the amazonesses glanced at me with a smile. Tentatively, she approached me, leaned down, and whispered, "Um, Sir Duran, Miss Riesz told us that you should be given lots of work today so…" I gaped at her as she bit her lower lip. _Riesz really _is _punishing me…_ "If you don't mind, could you help us set the table?"

I almost laughed out loud. Set the table?! I thought she was going to tell me to polish the floor clean! I looked down at it and regarded that it's very much clean enough. 

"And after that, could you please polish the floor? Miss Riesz said that it doesn't seem to be shiny enough…"

"Oh…" Damn. I sighed. Might as well get it over with. This _is _Riesz's special day. No good ruining it by complaining about work. "Alright, where do I start?" I stood up and trudged up to the table with the girl. 

"Just—" she began, but did not finish. It was because loud screams erupted from somewhere outside the dining room. Startled out of her hair, she and her friends flung the doors open, with me behind them. 

Then I didn't see anything else anymore but blood spattering all over everything. Five amazonesses dropped dead simultaneously, revealing a familiar figure standing in the hallway. 

I stood stunned at the sight. I know this guy. 

…but he couldn't…he wouldn't…he's—

"YAAAAH!" yelled a girl unceremoniously, swinging her spear at his direction, several others behind her. 

But with his own swift movements, he killed them all. 

"You—"

I was cut off by a shuriken catching me by surprise and sending me on my butt to the floor. Something warm grazed my forehead and pain shot up through my head. _No, he couldn't…who is this?!_

~~~~~~~~~~~~ End of Duran's PoV ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Duran grabbed at the leg of the large brass dinner table and pulled himself painfully to his feet, ignoring the throbbing ache in his head. He stared, confused and angry, at the person standing by the dining room's hallway, whose knives were dripping with fresh, godforsaken blood. "Hawk…what…?" he called out hoarsely, addressing his so-called friend, who has a malevolent smirk playing on his face. 

He looked so sinister. So…_evil_. Not so close to the Hawk he knew. But then…why does he have that feeling that it _is_ his friend? After so many strange encounters with beings that could most likely just copy every little detail in them from head to toe, why and how in the most holy of all Holylands did he, Duran, manage to just come to the most impossible conclusion that this person, this supposed 'Hawk of Navarre', who so mercilessly slaughtered half of Rolante's amazoness army just now, is actually his friend whom he fought alongside with to save the world? 

Sure, there are the golden eyes that shout 'I am so handsome, come to me, ladies', the long purple hair tied back in its usual ponytail, the desert-tanned skin, and the thin yet agile build…all yelling out the name 'Hawk'…but these, all these, are just silly manifestations of his friend's appearance. He knows. 

This one he sees before him isn't the former thief that Duran knows. _He would never do this… _he thought firmly, still staring fixedly at the man in front of him. Duran knew that Hawk could never do this, even though he witnessed it all. 

_He is not Hawk. _

Heartlessly slaughtering all in his path. And with all smiles and bloodthirsty cheeriness at that. 

_He is not Hawk. _

"Hey, Duran," 'Hawk' greeted back, the smirk unflagging, malice in his voice. He sheathed his knives and made entry to the dining room, uncaringly stepping over dead bodies scattered over the floor. "Nice to see you again. Where's Riesz?"

Duran glared. The casualty of this man's speech even after all the gory killings was getting to him. Who was he to ask him of Riesz's whereabouts? To just walk up to him like some old friend? "Nowhere," answered the duelist in his deadliest voice ever. 

'Hawk's' smirk faded slightly but he showed unmoved to the duelist's deadly tone. He stared back at Duran innocently. "Are you sure? You wouldn't be going to Rolante and lollygagging around the castle's dining room without knowing where Riesz is, right?" 

Of course, Duran knew exactly where Riesz is, but he wouldn't tell this murderer where she is. This Forcena's Knight of Gold isn't stupid. 

"I'm sure," said Duran through gritted teeth, placing a hand to his throbbing ache of a head. "You…who are you?"

'Hawk' laughed a short, knowing laugh. "Don't be a moron, Duran, it's me, Hawk."

"You're not."

The nightblade shrugged indifferently. "Whatever you say." He paused. Then flatly stated, "You're not much help, you know."

"Why would I help you?" The headache was getting worse. And he was getting angrier. 

Silence was the response.

~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fishing Harbor Palo ~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Everything's done now, Miss Riesz," said an amazoness happily, her companions trailing behind her, carrying what looked like bags of fruits and vegetables in their arms. 

The sapphire-eyed girl smiled and nodded her approval. "It's Riesz," she corrected them, for what seemed like the seventieth time that day, "and, yes, you may head back to the castle now." 

"Yes, Miss Riesz!" they replied, and immediately scurried off past the inn to the mountain, chattering among themselves excitedly. 

"You're going to be crowned queen already," stated the Altenian princess Angela from behind her. "How does it feel?"

Riesz turned around with a slightly nervous smile. She eyed her friend fondly before answering with a long speech, "let's put it this way…I was sixteen when I traveled all over the world for my brother, ended up killing legendary god-beasts and saving the whole world from an evil mana-snagging ruler-wannabe. Then on my seventeenth birthday, I get to be crowned as queen of Rolante. Usually, I'd be telling people that I'm excited and scared at the same time, but how can I, since everyone knows I've been through more excitement than any of this?"

Angela smiled. She placed herself next to the soon-to-be-queen and patted her arm. "So I take it that you're…"

"Excited and scared, yeah," said Riesz hastily, her nervous smile widening. 

The magus suppressed a giggle. "You're talkative when you're nervous," she observed.

Riesz looked up at her friend's gaze and laughed. "I guess. You always seem friendly when I'm nervous."

"I'm supposed to be annoying…"

"That's a job already taken by Carlie."

The two girls looked at each other for a brief moment before laughing, for no reason at all. This was how it was supposed to be. All happiness and stuff. The world is at peace, and the mana heroes are now moving on with their lives. 

That moment was peaceful for the two of them, of course. But when the sound of a girl shouting and loud thumping of running feet were heard, their laughing was abruptly cut short. 

Angela and Riesz looked up at the sounds. The half-elf Carlie and the half-beastman Kevin were running towards them, panic-stricken looks etched into their faces. Carlie was shouting something, and Kevin was huffing up behind her. The two girls hastily made their way towards them. 

"What's wrong?" asked Riesz at once, her worried tone audible. 

"Gah, me smells blood," gasped the warrior monk out, breathing heavily, his panicked look unfaltering. 

"Carlie sense evil presence. Carlie sense bad things happening," sobbed the bishop, tears running down her cheeks. 

"Where?" Angela demanded, obviously taken aback by the news when just a little while ago, they were thinking of peace in the world.

"Rolante!" yelled Carlie and Kevin simultaneously, causing many people to look their way, and Riesz to almost cry out. 

"What? But it was fine when we left!" cried Angela incredulously, looking over at the Rolantean princess, who was digging frantically for something in her bag. 

Carlie just sobbed into her arms. "Really evil…it hurts Carlie…it was evil…"

"And you!" continued Angela, her finger pointed at Kevin's face, still in disbelief, "how can you smell blood from so far away?! That's not bona fide! That's—"

"Found it," interrupted Riesz in a shaky voice, clutching in her hand the Wind Drum that they used for calling Flammie. Without any heed to the looks given to her by her friends, she used the drum (A/N: how do you describe them using it? Like 'shaking' it or something?) and seconds later, the four of them found themselves on the back of the dragon, speeding towards the Wind Kingdom. 

From the sky, the castle looked unharmed and, if not, peaceful, but once they made it down to the gates, with Carlie bawling loudly, the sight before them was not to be beheld. 

There was a wave of nausea that swept over the group at the sight. It was simply gruesome. Here and there, blood was splattered, and there were what seemed like human limbs strewn about. It was awful. It was a sight that made everyone's stomach churn. (A/N: don't wanna go and elaborate, me thinks…)

"Gah, blood, so much blood, me smells," grunted Kevin in disgust, breaking the silence, "me can't breathe anymore…"

There was another bout of silence, broken only by Carlie's incessant sobbing. None of them seemed to want to progress into the castle, much less pass this horrid…place. Until…

"…Elliot…" whispered Riesz in realization, causing everyone else to jerk back into present. All of them turned to look at her, and were shocked to find streams of tears down her cheeks. "Elliot!" she repeated loudly and sped past the other three without another word. 

"Riesz!" yelled Angela worriedly and chased after the princess, all the while muttering words of disgust and abhor as she jumped over blood-stained remains and unattached body parts, with the warrior monk and bishop on her trail. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~ Inside the castle ~~~~~~~~~~~~

_I must see Elliot…_

She ran through the entrance and up to the throne room, ignoring all the deceased amazonesses around her. 

_I must see if he's safe…_

She ran up the stairs and into a long hallway, heading to where Elliot's room was. 

_I must see if he's alright…_

She went past doors and doors. She has to see if Elliot was alright. She has to see. She has to find him. 

Unwillingly, though, as she neared the dining room, a thought of another person crossed her mind. And his name popped into her head as she skidded to a halt in the middle of the hallway. "Duran…" Her eyes swept the hallway, and spotted several bodies by the dining room door. 

_Duran…? _She slowly approached the figures on the floor, sizing them up to Duran's. It didn't even occur to her that the duelist can very much take care of himself. She was just filled with so much worry, it was overwhelming. 

None of the corpses on the floor looked very much like Duran; for they were all female, but one that flew over her head to the wall behind her after a yelp of "ACK!" looked very much like that of the duelist. As a matter of fact, it was Duran himself. 

Riesz stared at the groaning Duran in shock. She merely watched as the orange-brown haired man struggled to stand up. 

_How'd he become so strong? _Duran asked himself, oblivious of the princess standing stock-still with surprise at his sudden emergence. He pushed against the wall to balance himself to stand and breathed heavily. "Damn it all to hell, how'd he get stronger than me?" he voiced out loud in frustration, looking around, and seeing, for the first time, the girl that 'Hawk' had ominously been looking for. And he also saw the malicious grin on the features of the man standing behind her. 

"Riesz!" cried the duelist, and made to run towards her, but it was too late. 'Hawk' already had her tight in his arms. 

"Hey, princess, been looking for you," whispered the man into her ear, his tone hungry, if not, starving. "Where were you, huh? Teasing me like that…"

Riesz froze. It wasn't because she did not know who it was holding her, for she was sure that it was Hawk by the sound of the voice, but because of the tone as the sentences were said. It was filled with hunger…lust…need. The tone didn't reflect much on the words, and it sent chills down Riesz's spine, nonetheless. She pushed against 'Hawk's' chest in sudden fear, stammering, "please, l-let me g-go…"

Duran watched helplessly as he tried to make his legs work. _Where's Carlie when you need her? _he thought angrily, and fell to his knees pathetically. _Where are the others anyway?! How come Riesz came here alone?!_

'Hawk' chuckled at Riesz's vain attempt to push him away. Then, with inhuman strength that surpassed that of Riesz, and she is a Star lancer at that, he had hoisted her into the dining room and just so threw her onto the table. "It's not right to tease people like that, my princess," he purred, climbing on the table and positioning himself on top of the very much alarmed and shocked princess. "As punishment…" Slowly, 'Hawk's' hands worked their way around the girl's body, taking in the perfect curves of her slender figure, causing the other to shiver slightly. 

"W-what are you doing?" stuttered Riesz, and in her mind, she was struggling like hell to get away, but she couldn't seem to make her body do the same. 

The duelist was unmindful of this; of course, with his position on the floor and the lack of time for the weakened Star Lancer to even make a sound, how can he? His mind was wandering to what the others were doing, allowing Riesz to run around in the corpse-filled castle alone. The abruptness of all that was happening was a real pain in the ass—and he was regretting of his earlier wish of a more exciting life. If other lives were at stake, he'd rather just die bored. Finally, he decided to look up, and found that the two have somehow changed their place and was now on the table. 

Not knowing what he can do, Duran did the only thing his body permits him, and that was to shout, "Hey, you'd better not be—!"

He was, however, cut off by a loud ripping sound and a shriek of, "NO, PLEASE!"

This time, Riesz was visibly trying to fend of 'Hawk' without much success. She was horrified at what he just did, which was ripping the front of her clothes to reveal most of her frontal body parts to anyone who looked. She was also very much surprised at the 'former thief's' unearthly power, since she knew for a fact that she, Kevin, and Duran, are the strongest among the mana heroes. How can he surpass that strength and still have enough energy to put up with all her struggling? At that moment, one thought crossed her mind.

_He is not Hawk. _

"Stop, please," she begged, pushing against 'Hawk's' chest with all the force she can muster, tears stinging her eyes and running down the side of her face in a steady stream. "Don't do this, don't—"

Duran yelled something very foul as he saw the man's lips forcefully lock themselves on Riesz's. He was now leaning weakly by the doorway and was determinedly glaring the fake Hawk down. Which was very ineffective. 

At the exact moment that the duelist had yelled a less than holy word to 'Hawk', Angela, Carlie, and Kevin have arrived (A/N: don't ask…). Their first shock was Duran's shout of "*expletive*!" and the next was the half-naked Riesz struggling under the grasp of whom they assumed as Hawk. 

Carlie was the first to move. As Angela and Kevin stood stunned at the happening, Carlie, hiccupping feebly, went and healed Duran's wounds. 

"What the heck?!" exclaimed Angela finally, but did not make an effort to move, much less look away at the scene. She always thought that the nightblade had a thing for the Rolantean princess, but it never dawned to her that he wanted her _this_ badly. _This is getting out of hand._

"Gah, evil, me feels, evil from Hawk," whispered Kevin uncertainly, visibly trembling with terror. "Gah…Riesz in danger, must help…" he continued, but made no movement to reflect these words. 

Riesz was positively bawling in panic now. She was almost drained of energy just trying to fight 'Hawk' off, and now that she can barely move, all she can think of doing was to scream for help—a big change for the strong and independent soon-to-be Rolante's queen. His hands were everywhere. She kicked, punched, flailed, but his hands all seemed to know where she was aiming and still manage to touch every long-private part of her body. 

"P-please, stop…" she whimpered, "P-please…"

'Hawk' wasn't listening. He simply simpered cruelly and kissed Riesz again, full on the lips. He loved the soft whimpering sound from the girl's throat so much that he couldn't help but delve his tongue deep into her forcefully opened mouth, taking in her taste, her essence…claiming her in a heated frenzy that made Riesz writhe senselessly underneath him. It was what he wanted for so long. He enjoyed every moment of it. (A/N: …goosebumps… *shudder*)

But not the witnesses—not entirely maybe. Kevin was near to a nosebleed and so was Duran, and they couldn't help but watch as the scene unfolds before them. Except for Carlie, of course, who was busy trying to get everyone back to the present. Trying to get them to actually realize that what they were watching was their friend in apparent jeopardy. 

The half-beastman opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was a low growl of "Gah!" which caught Angela's attention. She turned to him, looking a little dazed, before slapping herself mentally as Riesz screamed from behind. _What am I doing standing here? _she asked herself angrily, and was soon brandishing her Dragon Rod towards the fake Hawk. 

Though instead of screaming out a spell or two, she merely ran towards them, and made to hit 'Hawk's' head meaningless—only, she missed. In a flash, the man was up at her back, holding her arms behind her backside in an agonizingly strong grip that made her yell out in pain. 

There was a sudden flurry of motion from the immobile figures. Riesz seized the opportunity to escape, albeit her weakened state; she jumped off the table with a burst of momentum and sprinted to the far end of the room, where there was no shelter or exit, but simply far away from her assailant. She wrapped her arms around herself, sobbing deeply, and merely watched everything else with wide blue eyes. 

Angela's yell made Duran and Kevin move. With a loud battle cry, Kevin pounced on the back of the magus' attacker. Duran also started moving, and limped pathetically after the warrior monk, dragging his sword with him. Carlie was now the immobile one, and was yelling something with a terrified expression of her face.

Kevin sank his claws into 'Hawk's' shoulder, abruptly sending blood splattering all over Angela's hair. The girl squirmed in protest and pushed her back against her opponent, who, strange as it may seem, made their attacks seem painless altogether. And with Kevin's piercing grip, then that's saying something. 

The nightblade tightened his grip on the magus' arms. He seemed rather bored at the incident and his eyes were drifting unhappily towards where the Rolante princess was standing. With a yawn, he roughly shoved Angela towards the table and grabbed at Kevin's hand, saying in a rather uninterested tone, "The games you silly people play."

The warrior monk growled menacingly at him and said, "Me not allow you to hurt my friends."

"Is that so?" 'Hawk' blinked golden eyes at him in mock innocence. "Aren't I your friend, Kevin? Why'd you hurt me then? Surely, I can't hurt myself…"

"Hey, you fucked up little asswipe," called Duran from behind, his sword poised before him. He narrowed his eyes dangerously at the man he curtly addressed and pretended not to be limping as he inched forward. "How dare you call yourself our friend? I don't have an asshole like you for a friend." (A/N: Yes, people, the *expletive* he said awhile ago was far worse.)

'Hawk' snorted, unaffected by the colorful adjectives he was described as. He waved his hand dismissively. "Whatever."

Kevin made to grab at the man again, and Angela, who had just gotten off the table with palpable difficulty, went to smash her rod on 'Hawk's' head at the same time. Neither knew what hit them after. 

It seemed to have come out of nowhere. A strange blue bubble of some sort enveloped the two unsuspecting people, trapping them in. Angela and Kevin stood like zombies inside the bubble for a long time, their eyes glazed over—before they finally fall into a heap of bodies within. Duran and Carlie let out gasps of surprise and gaped on with open mouths. 

"Like it?" chirped the nightblade delightedly, placing a hand on the surface of the bubble-like thing, peering at the sufferers inside. "It took me weeks to learn that. It's quite easy, but also complicated and…" He trailed off with a smile. "What am I doing chatting around with you?" He turned to the other two, and both gave involuntary steps backward. "Ah heck," he chuckled and with a wave of his hand, the duelist and the bishop were trapped inside their own bubbles. 

Carlie was at once on her screaming rage. She pounded madly on the wall of her bubble and yelled, "Carlie want out! Carlie want out!" 

Duran had turned mute. He merely stared as 'Hawk' walked casually to the end of the room where Riesz was. The girl was trembling with positive terror that he never saw her let anybody see. She mouthed something incomprehensible and squeaked feebly as the man grabbed at her arm. 

"Time to go on with where we left off," "Hawk' purred softly, taking her into his arms and pushing her right on the floor. Grinning, he ripped part of his cape and tied the cloths around each of Riesz's wrists, and used his blood-stained knives to pin her arms down the floor via puncturing the cloths. 

The girl struggled with the last bits of her energy, screaming and shouting for help. The nightblade only laughed, and viciously clamped his mouth onto hers. He roughly ravaged the body flailing helplessly underneath him with mirth shining wildly from his eyes. She just yelled out in anguish as the man claimed her whole being in one swift movement. 

Carlie had quieted down immensely and was now crying softly in a corner of her bubble. She had her hands covering her face and couldn't bear to watch anymore. 

Riesz's screams rang through Duran's whole system, making him unable to tear his eyes away from what was happening before him. His vision was rapidly turning red, and he could no longer recognize the pain shooting in his palms as his fingernails dug themselves as deep as they can get. His knuckles had turned white, blood seeping through his fingers and dripping silently to his bubble's bottom. 

He was shaking with so much anger. Without any other thought than to kill the prick who was so hurting his best friend, he gave out a loud scream and began shouting swears and curses whilst pounding his bloodied fists on the barrier. His shouts accompanied Riesz's shrieks of anguish, making 'Hawk' happier with what he had done. 

=================== **End of Chapter One ** ===================

A/N: Yea! I'm done with chapter 1! ^-^ I hope you all forgive me for the fast-paced—uh—things. And the A/N's! I couldn't help myself…

Anyway, here's my note:

Ahem. I am to explain a few things. the main reason/s why I so made their life tragic is because (1) it seems more interesting that way (2) I feel like being tragic all of a sudden (3) I am totally crazy (4) I WAS NOT PLANNING TO HAVE RIESZ RAPED [?!]...but then, why'd I write it that way? reason/s (1) I was only planning to have her, Angela and Kevin kidnapped by a fake hawk, but when I ran it over to my friend, she suggested this really grotesque idea of having Riesz raped by the fake hawk and that Angela and Kevin disappear off scene for a little while [I'm kinda revealing the 2nd chapter here] (2) I didn't really agree at first but she insisted that it would 'spice up' the story (3) I still didn't agree because she doesn't seem to realize that I get goosebumps writing those (even yaoi) (4) she continued bugging me up until I started the second chapter (5) she still kept bugging me (6) and bugging me (7) and bugging me (8) and bugging me til I finally agreed in the end...so, I restarted the first chapter all over again and made her promise that she'll help me recover the plot of my first two fics...so there... *suddenly becomes all cheerful again* Hope you liked it though, even if it is haphazardly done…hehe. I really don't like making Riesz look like a total sissy, but...I already did. Don't flame me. I have an ugly beginning. And a long first chapter…Forgive me…other stuff to be explained in next chappie. Just don't forget to ask!

PS: Someone greet me! Twas my birthday last April 20 (Tuesday)!!! GREET ME! *prances around singing "Happy birthday" to self* I am now officially *cough*teen years old! 

Hawk: How old??? *looks skeptically at the 'cough' part*

PPS: *cough*teen years old! Why?

Hawk: ...er...never mind... *walks away*

PPPS:_ That_ was strange...

REVIEWS ARE ACCEPTED! AND REQUIRED!!! YOU READ, YOU REVIEW!!! Heheheh… ^_^;; Please?? For me?? As a birthday gift for lonely little me?? ^-^;; Heh...um... *little voice* pwease?


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